Why the Spike in Wrong-Way Crashes on I-275?

Recently, there were two fatal wrong-way collisions on I-275 within weeks of each other that were responsible for killing six people in the Tampa area. While the accidents took place days apart and just miles from each other, there were no similarities that authorities could find to try and understand why these types of collisions are occurring on the interstate. Accident details include:

On February 9, 2014, a driver of a Ford Expedition SUV entered I-275 going in the wrong direction and crashed head-on into a sedan that was carrying four people. Sadly, the four passengers in the sedan (who were fraternity brothers at the University of South Florida) were all killed when the SUV smashed into their car. The driver of the SUV also died in the crash from the fire that erupted. The driver of the SUV was heading home from a party, and appeared to be upset, according to people who knew him.

On February 21, 2014, a driver was heading south on I-275 in a Honda Civic when he suddenly made a U-turn on the interstate and headed north, according to a witness. The wrong-way driver crashed into an Enterprise rental truck, caught his car on fire, and died of his injuries. According to witnesses, the driver didn’t appear to be impaired, and many that knew him are at a loss as to why he made a U-turn.

The only similarity in both of these head-on crashes is that they took place early in the morning. The first collision happened around 2:00 a.m., and the second deadly wrong-way accident occurred around 2:30 a.m. According to authorities, wrong-way accidents are typically related to alcohol or drug use, which hasn’t been ruled out in these cases; however, both crashes remain under investigation at this time.

As car accident attorneys, we would like to urge everyone to drive sober and to avoid overnight driving, if possible. Being on the road during the early morning hours is very dangerous, and we would like you to share this article on Facebook to remind all of your friends and family of this danger so that they can avoid being in a head-on crash.